Monthly Archives: November 2014

As you know, I’ve been trying (and trying) to de-stash, and work down the amount of yarn I own. But it takes time to knit a stash away, and it takes significantly less time to acquire yarn. I’ve really tried to be good, but my will has wavereda fewtimes in the face of temptation.

And today is Thanksgiving, so I want to say thanks to you guys! So I want to offer to you:

This beautiful cherry colored yarn, DK weight, approximately 800 yards. It’s Louisa Harding Kimono Angora, but not the original colorway. I got this yarn 5 years ago, and about 4 years ago, I overdyed it from it’s original browns, cream and grey to it’s current cherries & garnets. This soft is as soft as yarn gets. It is 70% angora, 25% merino, and 5% nylon. The angora makes it cheek-rubbing delightfully soft, and the merino and nylon are really just there to hold the yarn together. There’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 yards here, so it could be a sweater!

The pros: have I mentioned the softness?

The cons: because this is primarily angora, it is just a bit delicate. Remember when I accidentally tore a hole in my fresh FO? That cowl was the same yarn. But unless you’re a violent knitter, I don’t think this is an issue. Just something to be aware of.

In a few days I’ll post a few of the things I had contemplated knitting with this yarn, in case you want some inspiration.

Anyways. Want approximately 800 yards of luscious DK weight angora yarn? Here’s what you do: leave a comment on this post that has the words “YARN ME” somewhere in it. And tell me (if you feel like it, not required at all) what you’ve been daydreaming about knitting recently.

Contest will close Wednesay, December 3 at 11:59pm, and I’ll do a random number generator to find the winner!

This outfit has been a favorite of mine this fall. The combination of the navy polka dot blouse with the orange ruffle cardigan tickles my fancy! I thought for a very long time that I looked terrible in orange. I still don’t think I look great in many shades of it, but I find I really like autumnal oranges, with brown undertones, that make me think ‘spice orange’.

Other things of note: I’ve been wearing blush recently. I’m not honestly sure how I feel about it, but blush is having such a time in the sun right now, I thought I might as well give it a try. I’ve been thinking I should periodically make a post of what I’ve been doing with my makeup recently. It changes slightly over time, and I feel like I forget what I used to do.

Have you changed your way of thinking about certain colors?

Also: I’m thinking of doing a giveaway on Thursday (if, you know, I can get my act together), so stop back then!

Or how about this flippin’ delightful poesy ring from the British Museum? In case the charming six pointed stars and slightly wobbly design don’t just have you at hello, it is also engraved on the inside: ‘Many are the stars I see but in my eye no star like thee’. Calm down with your awesomeness, already, ring. Save some for the rest of us.

Like this:

One of my very favorite ladies got married on Halloween. I cried the moment she started to speak at the ceremony, because geeze, there’s something about people I love making life long commitments that brings out the sap in me. Properly contrasted with a duck face selfie, of course. I designed her invites, and hopefully someday I’ll get around to showing you those.

I borrowed a dress for the wedding and I’m kind of in lurve with it. Also, dressing up for this made me realize: a) my hair is pretty long and b) I don’t really know how to make it formal or even semi-formal at this length. Braids have been my default, but I need some new inspiration.

I decided to knit another ‘seasons hat’ for a friend who always wears hats. When there’s this many colors at play, I have to swatch a minimum of four times. I like where I ended up! This is pretty close to completion, depending on how much knitting time is in the near future.

Time is at a bit of a premium right now because PoPS is in full swing production! Which is time-consuming, but it’s wonderful to be getting this stuff done. Pre-production was a especially brutal this round (I’m looking at you, scheduling). Oh, this picture is hands belonging to myself and Carlyn. When we need a double for her on set, I don a wig, and rings.

Production at our place means I’ve been cleaning every room we’ve been about to shoot in. And then inevitably seeing corners of dustiness while we’re shooting. SIGH. Accidentally bleached my jeans with the tub-scrub stuff the other day. At least it looks kind of planned-ish?

Baiza has been a bit under the weather. It’s easy to forget how old she is, being as teensy and spry as she is, but occasionally her age catches up to us. She’s on the mend, and this little tent has been her favorite hide out. Chyna made it for Mitzy, who upheld the time honored pet tradition of not giving a rats-patootie about the things their people want them to, so I’m glad Baiza likes it!

Part of my family celebrated an early Thanksgiving with a meal, and I very much enjoyed how much Jake’s sweater matched the flowers on the table.

In this time of eternal cleaning and tidying, I’ve been shuffling through my wardrobe again, and I decided that my favorite chambray shirt has been out of commission long enough, and either needed to be tossed or fixed. So I took a cue from my favorite board dedicated to mending (specifically this) and went for it! It’s wearable again! I think the fabric is starting to give, so I’m not sure how much I extended it’s life, but oh well. I still like it!

I love these bobbles! I really like knitting bobbles, and I find them fun fun fun, but admittedly, sometimes they can be a little overpowering or silly looking on knits for adults. So I love that Erica made it more about a small, all over texture, both by using a less bulky yarn (sport weight) and bringing down the size by reducing stitches. It ends up feeling classic and ladylike! Erica’s original version in navy looks especially classic to me.

This is also the first time I’ve knit a double thick brim. I’ve seen it around the knitting world, and contemplated how nice it must be in the dead of winter, but never actually tried it myself!

As a knit, this is a good on-the-go knit. Once you’ve got the hang of the bobbles, it’s a fairly meditative knit that fits well in a (large) purse. But I assume knitters really only carry large purses. The yarn is a silk, wool, bamboo blend, and it is really delightfully soft. It should satisfy any friends with wool-uncertainties in terms of softness. The silk really contributed to the slouch factor here. I’m kind of tempted to knit it again in a more robust wool for the kind of lovely cheeky wintry height that it seems very capable of.